Acts 9:1-2 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the Disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

 

Chapter 8 in the Book of Acts begins by speaking about Saul and his hatred toward those in the Way; followers and believers in Jesus Christ. No one really knows how many Christians Saul had arrested and/or killed but by all accounts, the number could have easily been in the hundreds if not more.

 

Saul witnessed the stoning of Stephen. He was there that day and stood by as the first martyr for Christ was killed in the street as rocks were thrown at him until he breathed his last. We don’t know if Saul participated in Stephen’s stoning but we do know he was there. Saul was an enemy of the first Church.

 

After writing these things about Saul, Luke shares the story of Philip and his ministry to the Samaritans, Simon, and the Ethiopian. It’s almost like he got off on a rabbit trail about Philip but gets back on track about Saul in the 9th Chapter.

 

Evidently, Saul had gotten word that there were believers in Damascus who were meeting in the synagogues. This knowledge caused Saul to go to the High Priest and get permission to go there and arrest the believers and bring them back to Jerusalem. These letters were similar to what we know as a warrant for arrest.

 

All that is written about Saul and his hate for the Church is background information for what is about to happen to him as he journeys to Damascus. As we continue through with our study of the Book of Acts, we are about to learn of the greatest transformation of a human being in all the Bible!

 

As a side note, Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, several times refers to the First Church as “The Way.” Jesus declared this of Himself. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me. (John 14:6) The Way was the first Name given to the Church proclaiming Jesus to be The Way to the Father. Not “a way” but THE WAY. The ONLY Way and He remains so today.

 

Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to……..….turn the tide……….in this dark, evil world!

 

In The Way,         Doreen

 

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